On her 18th birthday, Danica learns of her unique powers. Life as she knew it will never be the same--assuming she can survive long enough to note the differences. Powerful people are after her, and the fate of two worlds lies within her mind.

AN: This is actually a dream I had the other night. Chapter Two will be the detailed description of my dream, which is basically the scene of the story I saw in my head while I slept, though I knew back-story information and all, as though I was in THEIR heads and not vice versa. I know almost everything about these characters.

I'm posting this particular story because, frankly, I've hit horrible writer's block with ALL my stories. I just can't seem to work on them. This has been the only project I've seriously been working on that I haven't posted on here, and I think some constructive criticism on my new 'baby' will help push me back into my normal flow. I'm sorry if other stories aren't getting updated as quickly as usual, but I just can't find my muse anymore. I have over 100 pages on Microsoft Word of this story, so it's rather long. You can expect regular updates for quite a while on this one. I apologize to all the readers who enjoy my other stories. As soon as inspiration hits, I promise I'll start typing it all out again. Until then, bear with me and help me by enjoying this one instead.

Chapter 1

The rain wasn't falling as heavily anymore, but it would definitely be a while before it stopped. Danica Valentine sighed as she glared at the impending rain, wishing for nothing more than a little sunshine. The sky was solid white, like one giant cloud had come to rain on her proverbial parade.

Her eighteenth birthday was today, and her parents were going out of town this weekend on her father's business trip. As an apologetic birthday present since they couldn't be there for the day of her birthday, they'd announced that not only could she stay home and not burden herself with the weary road trip with her "uncool" parents, they also told her she could invite her two best friends, Allie and Jessica, over for a sleepover.

"No boys, no drinking, no smoking, and no dirty movies," her dad had said jokingly.

She had rolled her eyes. "You know me better than that."

He kissed her on the forehead. "I do, don't I?"

Her mother and father, Charlie and Mandy Valentine, had bid her farewell and backed out of the driveway with waves and blown kisses. Danica had stood on the front porch, waving and smiling. She was currently awaiting the arrival of her friends.

To pass the time, she braided her hair. She was of a mild complexion, she decided idly as she looked into the mirror in her room. Her eyes were light blue, like the sky, and her hair was honey golden. Her hair, which was usually wavy and pretty much did whatever it wanted, lay tame behind her shoulders. The braid fell to the middle of her shoulder blades. She grinned at herself in the mirror. She had decided, after much debate, to wear jeans and a white V-neck shirt over an orange crewneck shirt. The doorbell rang as she tied the hair ring around the end of the braid.

"Coming!" Danica dashed down the hallway, jumped most of the stairs, through the living room, and skidded to a halt in her fluffy white socks on the hardwood floor in front of the door. She jerked the door open to see Allie standing there, bags in hand.

"You packed enough for two weeks, Al!" Danica exclaimed.

"I couldn't decide what to bring, so I just brought it all!" Danica had always thought Allie was beautiful. She had dark brown hair, practically black eyes, and a bronze skin tone to die for. She was slender and athletic and knew what she had and how to use it, which was obvious today, as she was wearing a denim miniskirt, black stockings, black boots, a black and white striped shirt and a red necklace with enormous beads.

"Come on. You can put your stuff down in the living room," Danica said as she led them into said room. There were two couches, and between them was a coffee table atop a Persian rug. A flat-screen television sat in an oak entertainment center on the far wall. The floor was caramel colored wood, and the walls were dark blue. Her mother loved to decorate, so paintings, photos of the family, plants and flowers, and little statues covered every nook and cranny.

"So are the parents gone?" Allie asked as she flopped onto one of the couches and put her cell phone on the coffee table.

"Yup, they left about an hour ago. Jessica should be here in about half an hour."

"So how many guys are we inviting tonight?" Allie asked mischievously.

Danica's eyes widened. "None. I promised my parents."

"Oh, come on. They'll never know."

"Allie," Danica said reprovingly.

"I know, I know. You're such a goody two shoes."

Danica threw a pillow at her. "Am not."

"Yeah, whatever. So what's on TV?"

"I don't know. Here." She tossed her the remote. "Want something to drink?"

"Sure. You have soda?"

"No, Allie. It's against my religion," Danica quipped sarcastically.

"Well I guess I'll just have water then," Allie joked back, not missing a beat.

They continued with small talk, scanning the television for anything remotely interesting, until the third and final member of the party arrived. Jessica was a complete contrast to Allie. She had white-blonde hair, dark blue eyes, and a heart-shaped face. She was completely pixie-like. She was petite; her eyes met Danica's chin. She was also definitely the conservative one of the group. She wore jeans and a green polo shirt.

Meanwhile, two young men stood together in a dark alley. One of them was wearing comically thick glasses that magnified his green eyes, a sleeveless orange shirt, and hunter green pants. He shook his shaggy blonde hair out of his eyes and stared up at the looming tower above them, a few blocks over from their current position.

"We're really doing this?" He asked the other anxiously.

The second man was dressed nicely in a black suit with a white button-down shirt and a loose black tie. His caramel brown hair was shorter than his companion's, and it was mussed from the wind. His chocolate brown eyes surveyed the purple and black clouds rather than their destination, the aforementioned tower.

"A storm's coming," he said, ignoring his friend's question. He turned a sharp gaze on the smaller man. "Are you sure you can do this?"

"No!" He pulled at his own blonde locks. "I told you before. There's no guarantee that I can hotwire that machine to teleport you to headquarters instead of back into the Empire's jaws!"

"Well, we have no other options." His voice was calm. "We have to get her before they do. Let's go." He turned to leave the alley.

"Malachi," the other man called after him.

The man in the suit—Malachi—paused.

"You aren't taking this personally, are you? I know the situations are similar, but…"

Malachi turned his head sideways to look through his peripheral vision. "Don't worry about me, Bug," he said. "Just help me save her."

Bug sighed. "All right. Let's do this."

AN: Thanks again! And please review!

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